FOCUS ON RELATIVISTIC JETS BUBBLING IN THE TEACUP GALAXY

Even low-power jets can help shape a galaxy, it just depends where they're headed

-  Briley Lewis

New research investigates how relativistic jets from a supermassive black hole have been shaping the Teacup Galaxy, giving it its iconic handle. Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are some of the most intense places in the universe, where supermassive black holes are gobbling up matter and spewing out jets that move at almost the speed of light. Astrophysicists know that these relativistic jets shape the galaxies they're in, stirring up and pushing out material as they shoot out from the central black hole. But not all jets are created equal - some are stronger and drastically change their surroundings by heating u